


Honesty is the Best Policy

by Gretti_writes



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fever, Hurt/Comfort, Infection, reluctant patient
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:54:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27564871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gretti_writes/pseuds/Gretti_writes
Summary: Mac says he's fine. Turns out he isn't and he doesn't particularly want to be in Medical.
Comments: 28
Kudos: 42





	Honesty is the Best Policy

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first MacGyver fic, so please be gentle! In fact it's only my second ever fic :O

He had forgotten how comfortable his own bed was. Mac and the team had been on so many back-to-back missions, it was at least 3 weeks since he’d slept in his own bed.

Mac’s bed wasn’t normally this cold though. He was shivering, even under a mountain of layers, and he could sense the beginning of a pounding headache. He could have quite happily rolled over and gone back to sleep but he knew if Jack found out he was sick, there would be trouble.

Mac staggered to his feet, the shivering intensifying as he left his warm bed. He’d just go to the kitchen, get some Tylenol, water and go back to bed. Matty has promised them a few days off anyway. Mac knew he shouldn’t have been surprised to see Jack sprawled on his sofa watching Bruce Willis, but he couldn’t help but say, ‘Don’t you have your own home and bed to go to?’

‘Ah, look who rises and looks rough! You see I thought you looked a bit hinky when we left the Phoenix so maybe ol’ Jack better check in on you. You were asleep, so I made myself comfortable. How you feeling?’

‘Jack, I’m fine, just exhausted’, Mac bit out, trying to keep the shivers at bay. ‘I’m gonna grab a glass of water and go back to sleep. You don’t need to stay’.‘Yeah Hoss. I’m sure’,

Jack raised an eyebrow. ‘I’m just gonna come over there and check your temperature real quick, you’re looking a bit flushed’.

‘I’m _fine_ and I don’t know how many times I have to tell you, your hand on my forehead is not an accurate judge of temperature’. Mac pushed away from the kitchen counter, planning on bypassing Jack’s ‘temperature check’. He only made it about two steps before his vision started to blur and everything seemed to tilt sideways. He could hear Jack start to say something and then he was falling, and everything went black.

**MacJackMacJackMacJackMacJackMacJackMacJack**

Jack knew from the minute they returned to the Phoenix that something was off with Mac. He wasn’t quite on the ball, forehead pinched into a frown like he was in pain. He casually suggested a movie night to wind down but Mac shrugged off the suggestion. Jack let him go and, having finished up with Matty, decided he would swing by Mac’s to put his mind at ease.

He’d let himself in with his key. Mac actually having locked the front door; unusual in itself. Finding no one in the lounge or on the deck, Jack checked Mac’s room. There he found a lump under the covers, asleep. Mac looked flushed, his blond hair sticking to his forehead. Jack decided there was no harm in waiting for Mac to wake – just to check he was really ok.

45 minutes later, Jack was relieved he had trusted his gut. He’d just about stopped his best friend from face planting as Mac collapsed in the kitchen. Jack could feel the heat radiating off Mac; he didn’t need a thermometer to tell he was running a fever. He tried rubbing Mac’s sternum to get a response. Nothing.

Jack speed dialled Matty.

‘Jack, when I give you a few days off, it means I don’t expect to hear from you’.

‘Mac isn’t well. He’s just collapsed at home. I can’t get any response from him. Tell Medical we are on our way’.

Matty’s gentle sarcasm was gone as she switched into work mode. ‘Ok, do you know the cause? Did he say anything?’

‘You know Mac. He said he was fine. He’s definitely running a fever though. I gotta go. I’ll see you soon’.

With that, Jack hung up and managed to lift Mac out to his car in a bridal carry.

**MacJackMacJackMacJackMacJackMacJackMacJack**

Several broken speed limits later, Jack pulled into the Phoenix garage. Medical staff were waiting and pulled Mac out of the car and onto a gurney. As they rushed along, Jack filled them in on what little he knew.

‘Mac said he was fine but he looked flushed and sweaty. He was asleep when I arrived but woke to get some water. Then he just collapsed. He’s burning up. I tried to rouse him but got no response. He’s been unconscious for maybe 15 minutes’.

‘There’s no injuries you can think of that might have caused this?’ queried Dr Reeves.

‘No, nothing’.

‘Ok, we’ve got him from here. You don’t have to leave but step back so we can work’.

Jack was grateful that Dr Reeves didn’t make him go, not that he would have gone without a fight. He watched as the nurses quickly and efficiently stripped Mac of his clothing and started attaching monitoring equipment. It was then that the doc spotted a hastily made bandage wrapped around Mac’s abdomen. Jack hadn’t seen it before and mentally cursed that his kid had hidden an injury again. They would be having words.

Dr Reeves quickly snipped the bandage away. The stench from the wound made Jack want to hurl.

‘I think we’ve found our source of infection. Let’s get a bag of chilled Ringers running in an IV, get a cooling blanket underneath him and I want ice packs please for groin, neck and axillae. Somebody book me a theatre slot asap and I’ll start drawing up some medication’.

It was all moving too quickly for Jack. His kid was lying naked on a gurney, unaware of the many hands that were currently poking and prodding him. He would hate it. Someone had the decency to half cover Mac with a gown but Jack couldn’t watch anymore. He lurched for the door and made it into the hallway, vomiting into the nearest bin. He tried to take some deep breaths, get himself under control. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Matty and Dr Reeves.

‘Are you ok?’

‘Er, yeah. Just a bit much, you know. I thought he was fine. I should have noticed sooner’.

‘No Jack, don’t go down that road. Mac is an adult. He has to be responsible for telling someone when he needs medical attention. This isn’t your fault’. Matty’s eyes blazed with conviction and Jack knew it was futile to argue.

‘I know you saw Mac’s wound’, Dr Reeves began. ‘I think it must be at least eight days old to look like that. We’re going to take Mac into surgery right away. We need to wash out the wound thoroughly and may need to insert a drain. I won’t know until we get in there. I’ll keep you updated’.

With that, Dr Reeves left and Jack slumped to the floor in the corridor. His kid was hurting and he didn’t know. Mac hadn’t told him either; he thought they’d got past that. Mac must have been hurting for at least one mission, if not two, for the wound to get so bad. He was gonna have to start checking his kid over after every mission again, whether Mac liked it or not. In the meantime, all Jack could do was wait.

**MacJackMacJackMacJackMacJackMacJackMacJack**

Jack was pacing the hallway when Dr Reeves came to find him.

‘Mac is out of surgery. He’ll be fine. We’ve washed out and debrided the wound to help get the infection under control. I’ve also put in a drain for now, so Mac will be restricted to bed for a couple of days. He’s still running a temperature and he’ll be on IV antibiotics for a while. You can go and sit with him now, I’m pretty sure you know the way’.

Jack shouted ‘Thanks Doc’ over his shoulder as he jogged down the corridor. Mac was still asleep when he arrived. It never ceased to amaze him how fragile and small Mac looked in a hospital bed. His face was relaxed, the pinch of a frown from earlier gone.

‘Got you on the good drugs Hoss. You just take your time. Get that rest I know you need. I’ll be right here when you wake up’.

Jack settled down into the chair next to the bed, his eyes taking in all of the medical equipment. Nasal cannula, ECG, blood pressure cuff. Jack chuckled as he noticed a few other things. The Phoenix doctors certainly knew what Mac was like as a patient. They’d put a central line in his neck and covered it with a large dressing. _More difficult to pull out_ , Jack thought. Although that would be tricky anyway, given they had put Mac in padded mittens. His hands looked like they were encased in small boxing gloves, the mesh on the top showing that Mac’s fingers were separated out.

‘Wow Mac, they’ve really gone all out here. They must know what a pain in the arse you are when you’re sick. Man, this could all have been avoided too if you had just told me. I mean, now you’ve got a damn drain coming out your stomach’.

Jack looked down at the drain collection bad and noticed there was no catheter bag on the side of the bed. Tina, one of Jack’s favourite nurses, chose that moment to enter the room. She brought with her a cup of coffee for him and started doing Mac’s obs.

‘Ah, Tina, you star. This is just what I needed. Say, I couldn’t help but notice Mac here doesn’t have one of those nasty bags hanging on the bed. Dare I ask why? I mean, no one actually likes having one of those tubes but he has just had surgery’.

‘I assume you mean a catheter? Well…..as you can probably tell, Dr Reeves is a bit concerned Mac may wake up, try and remove everything and plan his escape’. Tina smiled. ‘I’m not sure if you remember what happened the last time Mac had a catheter…’.

Jack made a face and shivered; he did not need to be reminded of that.

‘So, to stop him pulling it out again and doing more damage, we just haven’t put one in. He’s wearing briefs instead’.

‘Wait, you mean to tell me, you put my boy here in diapers?’, Jack grinned. Oh, Mac was never gonna live this down.

‘We call them incontinence briefs. He’ll only need to wear them until the drain is removed and we can get him mobile. His obs are looking good, although his temp is still high. He should be awake soon. I’ll leave you to it’. Jack thanked Tina and sent off a quick text to Matty, updating her. He wasn’t gonna bother Bozer or Riley yet. There was nothing they could do. Mac was asleep and hopefully they were too.

**MacJackMacJackMacJackMacJackMacJackMacJack**

Mac felt odd. He remembered getting up to get some Tylenol and Jack being there but he didn’t remember getting back into bed; which must be where he was now. He was horizontal after all. Maybe Jack helped him back into bed? Mac laid there a bit longer. It didn’t feel like his bed though. No weight of a nice warm duvet over him and he hardly ever slept on his back. Something tickled under his nose and he went to itch it. It felt like he had just punched himself in the face with a pillow. He became aware of a voice next to him.

‘Hey Hoss, I know you’re awake. I’d really like to see those baby blue eyes; think you could open them for me? Say hi’.

Mac gingerly opened his eyes. Yep definitely not his bedroom ceiling. It looked like Medical but surely he wasn’t that sick. It was just a bit of a temperature. He groaned.

‘Why am I in Medical? Did they give me morphine? I feel all woozy…floaty’.

‘You had a fever, I came to the house, remember? You collapsed on me so I brought you to Medical. They found that nasty wound on your abdomen. It was infected so they had to take you into surgery to wash it out and place a drain’.

Jack could see the minute it all clicked into place for Mac. His eyes suddenly a bit clearer and a look of guilt flickered across his face.

‘Jack, I probably should have told you but….but…Matty kept putting us on back to back missions and I thought it could wait. You guys were more important’. Mac was starting to ramble.

‘Stop. You know you should have told me, and we will talk about this, but not right now. I can see you’re flagging. Go back to sleep, we’ll talk later’.

Jack ran his fingers through Mac’s hair and he was asleep within minutes.

**MacJackMacJackMacJackMacJackMacJackMacJack**

The next time Mac awoke, his head felt less woozy. He remembered he was in Medical as he opened his eyes. Jack was asleep in the chair next to him. Taking the opportunity to get his bearings in peace, Mac looked down at himself. He hated being in Medical. He hated the gown he was currently wearing, the sticky pads on his chest, the blood pressure cuff on his arm. He didn’t need any of it. He could rest at home. He brought his hand up to undo his gown and noticed the mittens for the first time.

‘Arghhh, this is ridiculous, stupid things’. Mac banged his hands frustratedly on the bed.

‘The doc doesn’t seem to think it’s ridiculous; especially as you have a habit of running off Hoss’.

Mac looked across to a now awake Jack and glared at him.

‘Hey now. If you would just let these nice people treat you, they wouldn’t have to do this’, Jack gestured at the mittens.

‘Oh right, because you’re such a model patient when sick! You get out of here as soon as you can’.

‘I usually wait until I’m almost better. Oh, and I never end up in Medical because I don’t tell my _partner_ I’m hurt and then let the wound get infected’.

That took the wind out of Mac’s sails and Jack knew it was a low blow. He softened his voice as he tried a different tact.

‘Look, they are just looking out for you. Sometimes you get so lost in that big brain of yours that you harm yourself without thinking. They’re trying to keep you safe’.

‘I know. I just….I just don’t like it. I wanted to see the damage. Will you help me take off my gown please?'

Jack could see Mac was struggling. He had no control over the situation and he knew that terrified him. He got up and untied Mac’s gown, pushing it down so they could see the abdominal dressing.

‘You said something earlier, about surgery. Is that a drain?’

‘Yep. The doc said it has to be in for a couple of days, so you have to stay in bed’.

‘Is that really necessary?’

‘Yes, Agent MacGyver, it really is’, Dr Reeves answered, having just entered the room. ‘I heard you were awake, how are you feeling?’

Mac wasn’t really listening to the doc. He was too focused on his stomach. He’d pushed his gown down further to see the whole dressing and his eyes had spotted something white and padded around his waist.

‘Er….what did you…..wait…..have you……did you put me in a…….in a diaper?’ Mac questioned in shock. His face went a deep shade of red. He didn’t know where to look.

‘We prefer to call them incontinence briefs and there is no need to be embarrassed. We noted that they were recommended in your file, as you have a tendency to self-remove catheters. I understand last time you managed to do some damage and we wanted to avoid a repeat of that. You’ll only need to wear them until we’ve removed the drain and we can get you up and about’.

Mac’s shock had worn off, leaving frustration in its wake.

‘No, no, no, no. I’m not wearing it. Take it off. I don’t need it; I’ll just go to the bathroom like any normal person. I’m not a child’.

‘MacGyver, I’m sorry but that’s not going to happen at the moment. You aren’t well enough to be out of bed and this is the best solution. Remember, it’s only temporary’.

‘Just TAKE IT OFF!’

‘MacGyver, I need you to calm down. We aren’t going to take it off’.

‘Fine, I’ll do it myself then!’ Mac, forgetting the mittens, put his hands down to remove the tapes on the diaper. Only he couldn’t get a grip and after several attempts roared in frustration.

‘Mac, buddy. It’s ok, it’s only temporary remember. Just until the drain is out. I mean, you’ll probably sleep most of the time anyway. You have to calm down though, the stress isn’t worth it’. Jack tried to grab hold of Mac’s hand but he was angrily shoved back.

‘If you’re not going to help, that’s fine but you can leave. Just go. I don’t need you here’.

Jack saw that Mac wasn’t thinking straight. Tears were running down his face. He was angry and frustrated and embarrassed. He looked across at Dr Reeves, who gave him a nod, and then he turned around and left the room.

Mac didn’t watch him go. He was too busy trying to get out of his diaper. So busy, in fact, that he didn’t see Dr Reeves inject a sedative into his IV line.

**MacJackMacJackMacJackMacJackMacJackMacJack**

Mac was starting to get frustrated with waking up and wondering where time had gone. Someone had retied his gown. He was still wearing the mittens and from what he could tell, the diaper hadn’t been taken off. The room was quiet. No Jack snoring in the corner. There was, however, a nurse in his place.

‘Hey Mac, I’m Ben. I’ve been assigned to look after you. How are you feeling?’

‘Babysit me more like’, Mac muttered under his breath. ‘I’m fine. Wouldn’t mind stretching my legs though, if you could just lower the bed rails’.

‘Ah, no can do. You’re on bed rest, which I think you know. I can bring you some food though if you’re hungry. I know you’re getting fluids through the IV, but proper food is always nice. Maybe some juice and a Jell-O to start?’

‘No thanks’. Mac was frustrated. Everybody seemed to be in on this cruel punishment against him. He wasn’t going to put anything else into his body that he didn’t have to. He wanted to ball his hands into fists, maybe fiddle with some paperclips but the mittens prevented him. All he could do was lay there and ignore Ben, who didn’t look like he was going to leave Mac unattended.

He couldn’t stop thinking about the diaper. He could feel the bulky material, pushing his legs apart like a baby. There was no way he was using it but he was starting to get the urge to go. He thought about something else, doing complex maths in his head. He’d always found it calming.

Mac realised he must have dozed off because when he awoke, he could feel warm, damp padding between his legs.

_Oh god,_ he thought. _No, no, no, no. This isn’t happening. This is so embarrassing_.

Mac squeezed his eyes closed in frustration and took a deep breath. He called Ben across.

‘So….urm…..I may need some help. I’ve…. You know’.

Mac gestured with his mittens. His face felt like it was on fire. Thankfully Ben was a consummate professional.

‘Ah, no problem. Let me just go grab some supplies and we’ll get that sorted’.

Mac closed his eyes throughout the whole process but couldn’t get his thoughts to shut up.

_I’m being changed like a baby by a grown man. If it wasn’t bad enough that I had to use the diaper, he’s now putting me in a new one. This is one never ending joke. I thought catheters were bad but maybe I should have just left them alone. I can’t believe they put a note in my file. I’ve got to get that changed. This is mortifying. At least it’s a male nurse._

_I wish Jack was here. I shouldn’t have sent him away. Yeah, he will make fun of this but maybe it’s my own fault. I should have told him about the wound, there just never seemed to be a right time. The team needed me and I didn’t want to let them down._

_This is my fault. I should have just listened. Maybe this is my punishment – the mittens, the diaper, the central line. I know they could have just given me a regular IV. I can’t help it, I just don’t like being in Medical and these mittens are starting to feel like torture. I feel so exposed and I sent my overwatch away. I’m an Idiot._

‘Ben, could you ask Jack to come here please?’ Mac knew he needed to face up to what he’d done and this was a start.

‘Yep, of course. I’ll go and give him a ring. I think he’s in the building somewhere’.

**MacJackMacJackMacJackMacJackMacJackMacJack**

Jack was down in Medical within 10 minutes. He had been in the armoury trying to take his mind off Mac. His kid was hurting and he wasn’t there to help. He didn’t know what sort of Mac he was going to find when he entered the room, so he just took a seat, noting that Ben left them to it.

Mac took a deep breath.

‘I’ve been an idiot. I know that you are always there to watch my back. I mean, you’re my overwatch even when we’re meant to be off duty. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have kept my injury from you. I realise that now. I mean, I could have avoided all of this. All this medical stuff I hate. You were only trying to help and I stropped like a small child’.

‘Well, I’m glad you were the one to point that out – what with the mittens and all’. Jack grinned. ‘I know you, you’re sometimes less than smart about yourself. You need to remember that the rest of us care about you. You are important to us, even if you think you are expendable. You’re not, kid. You never will be. You just need to trust me. I thought we’d gotten past this’.

‘I do trust you Jack’.

‘I know, you just don’t think you can be vulnerable with me. Mac, I’ve seen you hurt, I’ve seen you crying from the pain, I’ve seen you high as a kite on Ketamine and at your lowest low. Just like you’ve seen me. It doesn’t make me think any less of you Hoss. The opposite. So from now on, you have to promise me, you’ll tell me when you get hurt. Even the smallest papercut. It might not change our plans but it will help me keep you safe’.

‘I promise. I’m sorry’.

‘Hey, enough with the sorry now. I accept your apology. Just know that for the foreseeable future, I’ll be checking you out after every mission, you hear me?’

Mac nodded.

‘Good, let me see what I can do about adios-ing those mittens. That is, if you are willing to stay here, ‘briefs’ and all until the doc says otherwise?’

Mac smiled. ‘Yes Jack, I’ve learnt my lesson’.

‘Glad to hear it’.

Jack leaned over the bed and embraced Mac the best he could, what with all the lines and the drain. Mac, in turn, melted into Jack’s arms, grateful his overwatch was back on duty.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment if you have the time!


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